It's a "Top Dogs" Final Four

The SEC influence on March Madness still looms large, and all four “top dogs” make the Final Four

March 31, 2025

Men’s Final Four 2025: What to Know About Duke, Auburn, Florida and Houston
The Athletic’s Lauren Merola writes, “In 2025, the crown will go to a No. 1 seed, as all four top dogs — Auburn, Duke, Florida and Houston — advanced to the Final Four for the second time in tournament history.

“The dominance of the SEC has loomed over March, with the conference setting a record with 14 NCAA Tournament bids, then another with seven teams in the Sweet 16. It also became the first conference to have four schools in the regional finals.

“Two SEC teams remain, and they’ll meet in one semifinal, while the ACC and Big 12 match up on the other side of the bracket.”
^{The Athletic}

NFL League Meetings Kick Off
No team equity sales are up for approval, but owners expect to hear new updates from the special committee that created the league’s new private equity policy last year. Owners will also be asked to vote to extend the flex scheduling policy for “Thursday Night Football” through the rest of the Amazon contract. Owners are also expected to approve a $650M debt waiver for the Bills to pay for cost overruns at the $2.2B new Highmark Stadium.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Real Salt Lake, Utah Royals Majority Sale by David Blitzer in Advanced Stage
David Blitzer is in advanced talks to sell controlling stakes in both MLS’s Real Salt Lake (RSL) and the NWSL’s Utah Royals, multiple sources with knowledge of the discussions confirmed to The Athletic.

A source familiar with the negotiations told The Athletic on Saturday that it’s anticipated that, once the deal becomes official in April, the Larry H. Miller family will become the majority owner of both RSL and the Royals and that Blitzer will stay on as a minority owner.
^{The Athletic}

South Carolina Women’s Hoops Faces Financial Deficit Despite Success
The South Carolina women’s basketball team has “averaged a deficit” of $5.59M over the past three years, a span in which the team has made the Final Four every season and won a pair of national titles, according to Jordan Kaye of the Columbia STATE. The largest shortfall ($5.7M) of those three years came in FY23, the lone season USC didn’t win a title. Last year, as the women’s basketball team lost $5.6M, the men’s team “had a profit of nearly” $3.5M. However, if the women’s team earned the same money from media rights and NCAA Tournament distributions, the revenue of the two programs “would be almost identical.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Owners of Liverpool and PSG Competing to Buy Spanish Club Malaga
The owners of Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain are battling to purchase the Spanish side Malaga as they look to develop their multi-club models.

Malaga, who compete in La Liga 2, have attracted attention from Fenway Sports Group (FSG) and Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) and could cost €100million (about £83.6million).
^{The Times}

Yankees Games to Air on Comcast Xfinity This Weekend as Warring Sides Agree to Extend YES Blackout Deadline
NY Post’s Ariel Zilber writes, “Yankees fans in New Jersey and parts of Connecticut who subscribe to Comcast Xfinity’s cable service will be able to watch the Bronx Bombers this weekend as the YES Network and the telecom giant agreed to extend the deadline to reach a new carriage fee deal — thus averting a blackout for the time being.

“YES and Comcast reached agreement to extend the deadline to 11:59 p.m. ET on March 31, delaying the removal of YES Network from Comcast’s lineup, which had originally been set for midnight Friday.”
^{New York Post}

Making the Friendly Confines A Fit For All Seasons
In 2024, the Friendly Confines underwent a franchise-record number of field layout changes for a calendar year. Aside from baseball, the iconic ballpark played host to a plethora of events, including football, soccer, hockey, golf, concerts and winter programming.

The expanded sports and entertainment offerings at Wrigley Field are a product of the 1060 Project (named for the ballpark’s address of 1060 W. Addison St.), a five-year restoration and expansion of the ballpark that was completed in 2019. The team-owning Ricketts family invested $1 billion on the project, without taxpayer dollars.
^{Sports Business Journal}

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SEC to Net NCAA Record $70 Million From March Madness Units
Sportico’s Eben Novy-Williams and Lev Akabas write, “The SEC, which will play 35 games before the final and therefore earned 35 units, will receive roughly $70 million for its performance in the tournament. That’s by far the highest total ever, eclipsing the 25 units the ACC won in 2016. This year the Big Ten was second, with 21 units, which will pay an estimated $42 million. The Big 12 was third with 20 units for $40 million.”
^Sportico

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